Breaking Down The Belts: Darby Allin's AEW World Championship

History was made on the Spring BreakThru episode of "AEW Dynamite" as Darby Allin realized his dream and defeated MJF to become the new AEW Men's World Champion.

Darby earned his shot at Maxwell Jacob Friedman by defeating Andrade El Idolo at Dynasty, but rather than waiting for a match in the main event of a pay-per-view, Darby knew MJF would be tired after his main event match with Kenny Omega, and after just over two minutes of action and four Coffin Drops, Darby won his first world title.

Throughout his AEW career, Darby has held two AEW TNT Championships and the AEW World Tag Team Championships with Sting, but all of his reigns have seen him be a fighting champion, which hasn't always worked out for him. His first reign with the TNT Championship may have lasted six months, but he was eventually worn down to the point where he was forced to pass out by Miro in the match where he lost the belt. His second reign lasted one month at the beginning of 2023, but he still managed to make four title defenses in that time before dropping the title back to Samoa Joe who he took the belt from to begin with. As for his tag title reign with Sting, that also lasted a month, but they vacated the titles after Revolution 2024 when "The Icon" retired. So what does all this tell us?

The main thing being that Darby will be a fighting champion and will likely be very active in the coming weeks and months. He's even got a title defense this week on "Dynamite" against Tommaso Ciampa just one week after winning the belt, and it's safe to say that match won't be the only defense Darby makes in the coming weeks if he emerges from his match with Ciampa victorious. The other thing being that if he is active as we believe he will, this title reign probably won't last that long.

With all that said, let's break down the current AEW Men's World Championship situation and take a look at who we think will be the man to dethrone Darby, and who should be the man to be the next champion.

Realistically, MJF is the man who both will and should be the next AEW Men's World Champion, but we're going to put as the man who will dethrone Darby Allin because it just makes the most sense, both in the ring and out of it.

Let's look at the night MJF lost the title. He was three days removed from wrestling Kenny Omega for nearly 40 minutes and was likely still feeling the effects of that match. Truth be told, it's his own fault for going dark on social media because if he hadn't, he would have at least known he was facing Darby on "AEW Dynamite." That obviously came back to haunt him as his old tricks didn't work out for him, and just two minutes later, he was without his beloved "Triple B."

That match was more of an angle that sets up an eventual rematch between the two, which will likely be a lot more competitive than what we saw on "Dynamite." MJF won't underestimate Darby like he has done in the past, he will have a lot more time to prepare, and will be more driven than ever to get his title back. MJF might even forgo the idea of beating Darby with a Headlock Takeover like he has done twice before because it's gone past the point of Darby being beneath him. They are on the same level now whether MJF likes it or not, and he will have to take Darby seriously.

Knowing Darby will be very active as well, he will more than likely be as beaten up as Max was on "Dynamite," which only goes to help MJF when they eventually meet. Where will that match be? More than likely at Double or Nothing, not just because it's a pay-per-view, but because it's in New York City, and if Darby won the title from MJF in his home state of Washington, then it's only right MJF wins it back in his home state as well.

As for everything outside of the ring, it's no secret that AEW has momentum right now. Ratings are up, attendance is up, interest in the company is up, and MJF is a big reason for that. He has done a great job at promoting AEW in interviews and on podcasts, to the point where, at least from a heel perspective, he is becoming the face of the company many people thought someone like Will Ospreay would become. Taking the title off MJF to begin with seemed like an odd move for some people, and while it was nice to see Darby have his moment, MJF being the champion again, is as the old saying goes, best for business at this moment in time.

The great thing about the AEW Men's World Championship scene in 2026 is that when it comes to who should be the champion, a lot of people fall into that bracket. Before he won it Darby Allin was in there, as was Hangman Page before he lost at Revolution. Bandido and Brody King were good options, Swerve Strickland after his recent heel turn, Will Ospreay now that he's back from injury, and even Samoa Joe before he got concussed at the start of the year. However, for everything that he's been through over the past few years, and the fact that this is likely the final big run of his career, it has to be Kenny Omega.

Omega's match with MJF at Dynasty has already been brought up but the context of how that match went is key. Omega had the match won with the One-Winged Angel, he even got the visual pin, but MJF kicked out once the referee finally got to the ring, and after nearly 40 minutes of action, Omega had nothing left. Due to the nature of how that match went, a rematch between Omega and MJF seems inevitable, especially given that Omega has never beaten MJF in his career. However, AEW has taken its fans on a journey full of twists and turns to the point where the obvious outcome doesn't always end up happening, so instead of Omega facing MJF again, why not have him beat Darby instead?

Darby vs. Omega is one of the few dream matches yet to happen in AEW, and given both men being more than willing to dish out and withstand ungodly amounts of punishment, it will likely be one of the best matches of the year. Omega also adapting his style to be more physical in the wake of his battle with diverticulitis, plus the fact that he can be incredibly vicious when the time calls for it, Darby will make Omega look like "The God of Professional Wrestling" everyone fell in love with in New Japan Pro Wrestling.

Thinking long-term, as AEW gets closer to All In London, Will Ospreay's name will be brought up more and more regarding the world title. Ospreay and MJF have already faced each other at Wembley Stadium, automatically making Ospreay's trilogy match with Omega more appealing (they did face in PWG in 2015 but that was before both men evolved into who they are now). Plus, Omega's career since losing the title to Hangman Page at Full Gear 2021 has been filled with suspensions, injuries, and almost fatal illnesses, so giving Omega one more chance to prove why he is considered one of the best of all time just seems right. It doesn't have to be for long, but giving Omega the title one last time is a formula that AEW has done with Bryan Danielson and that worked in the short and long-term. The fans deserve to see Omega as champion again as much as Omega deserves to be the top guy one last time.